Security Scholarships

Earn Top Dollar in Private Security and Loss Prevention

How do private security professionals fund college funding? There are increasing numbers of scholarship programs that are providing generous funding for students engaged in programs that lead to careers in private security. Professional private security personnel have wide flexibility in the environments where they can work. The career includes managing loss prevention (theft and vandalism) for malls and individual stores; providing grounds security for gated communities, corporate headquarters, educational campuses, and large sporting or entertainment venues; as well as being employed in certain industries and by private individuals.

Students interested in the field have a couple of education options leading to a career in security and loss prevention. You can pursue a major at a college that offers degrees in criminal justice or you may seek out a specialized degree in security management. In many cases, criminal justice programs offer coursework that covers a wide range of topics related to private security.

College Scholarships

The University of Alabama-Birmingham administers a few security-specific scholarships:

• Security Engineers Private Security Scholarship is open to students who have criminal justice as their declared major, have a demonstrated financial need for the scholarship, an overall GPA of 2.5, and a documented interest in pursuing a career in private security. It is is funded by Security Engineers, Inc., a Birmingham-based security company.

• Buck Shaw Private Security Scholarship is open to students who have criminal justice as their declared major and have earned an overall GPA of 2.5.

Students pursuing degrees that will lead to careers in private or industrial security may be qualified to receive scholarships from Michigan State University. The Private and Industrial Security Endowed Scholarships are open to undergraduate and graduate students in the criminal justice program. Eligible applicants must demonstrate academic excellence and be able to prove through coursework and extracurricular activity their commitment to a career in private security. They provide tuition support on an annual basis to one or more students in the major.

The University of Houston-Downtown offers a Master of Security Management for Executives (MSME) as part of the criminal justice program. The program was designed in response to requests from corporate security companies who want trained security professionals for management roles. Students may qualify for the ASIS Scholarship, awarding $3,000 each calendar year, for students enrolled in the MSME program who are Texas residents.

Long Island University has several satellite campuses throughout New York. The Brentwood campus features a security specialty within its criminal just program. Courses cover private security and loss prevention as well as industrial security issues and information security. The university offers a couple of dozen general scholarships that offer funds for nearly everyone. Applicants may qualify on the basis of academic merit, financial need, minority status or a combination of these.

Professional Scholarships

The American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) is the leading professional organization for private security professionals. The ASIS Foundation offers annual chapter scholarships. Students with no prior professional work or professionals pursuing a degree in a security-related field can apply. Eligible applicants must be members of each chapter and pursuing a degree that leads to a career in private security, especially in an industrial setting. Scholarships funded by ASIS are also available directly through many college criminal justice programs.